Although there has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity, the hermeneutic question today seems to us a new one.
Paul RicoeurRead
Testimony demands to be interpreted because of the dialectic of meaning and event that traverses it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Testimony must be understood within the context of both the speaker's intent and the events being described.
In this quote, Paul Ricoeur emphasizes the importance of interpretation in understanding testimony. He suggests that the meanings formed through testimony are influenced by the events being recounted as well as the perspectives and experiences of the person providing the testimony, thus making interpretation a complex and dynamic process.
Themes
TestimonyInterpretationMeaningEventDialectic
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about historical events, this quote can emphasize the importance of analyzing differing testimonies.
More from Paul Ricoeur
All quotes βThe narrative constructs the identity of the character, what can be called his or her narrative identity, in constructing that of the story told. It is the identity of the story that makes the identity of the character.
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If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are equal.
Paul RicoeurRead
But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny. Myth expresses in terms of the world - that is, of the other world or the second world - the understanding that man has of himself in relation to the foundation and the limit of his existence. Hence to demythologize is to interpret myth, that is, to relate the objective representations of the myth to the self-understanding which is both shown and concealed in it.
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On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in the world is the time in which all meaningful questions arise.
Paul RicoeurRead
Myth expresses in terms of the world - that is, of the other world or the second world - the understanding that man has of himself in relation to the foundation and the limit of his existence.
Paul RicoeurRead
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